Bears' Keenan Allen: Shane Waldron Was 'Too Nice of a Guy,' Talks Offense's Struggles
The freefalling Chicago Bears announced Tuesday they fired offensive coordinator Shane Waldron following a third straight loss, and one of the team's most prominent players said it was about time.
"Better sooner than later," wide receiver Keenan Allen told reporters Wednesday. "We have to make some things happen. So if it wasn't happening then? Insanity, man, we all know that definition. So. We just have to make this change and see what happens."
He also opened up about why it didn't work with Waldron.
"Too nice of a guy," Allen said. "OTAs, camp, we fell into a trap of letting things go and not holding people accountable and that's a slippery slope. Just professionalism and doing things the right way from the beginning."
It doesn't seem like everyone necessarily agreed with Allen's assessment, as running back Travis Homer—who was on the Seattle Seahawks in 2022 when Waldron was the offensive coordinator—told ESPN's Kalyn Kahler, "I know a lot of guys in Seattle, they responded well to how it was," when asked about the "too nice" comments.
"I guess some guys here, they don't really like that too much."
It wasn't supposed to be this way for the Bears in 2024.
While it may have been unrealistic to expect a deep playoff run after the team went 7-10 last season, the team overhauled the offense by drafting Caleb Williams No. 1 overall and adding Allen, Rome Odunze and D'Andre Swift to a group that already featured DJ Moore and Cole Kmet.
That is an abundance of offensive riches, and things seemed to be clicking when a victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars in London moved Chicago to 4-2. The Bears were also a single play away from improving to 5-2 before Jayden Daniels and the Washington Commanders stunned them with a Hail Mary that drastically altered the trajectory of their season.
The defense and head coach Matt Eberflus deserve the blame for the Hail Mary, but the offense also managed just 15 points in that game. It was the start of the ongoing three-game losing streak that saw the unit put up nine points against the Arizona Cardinals and three points against the 3-7 New England Patriots.
Had the offense played better against the Commanders, the Hail Mary wouldn't have happened and the overall outlook may be completely different. Yet Waldron thought handing the ball off to backup offensive lineman Doug Kramer instead of a running back at the goal line in the fourth quarter was a good idea, and the play resulted in a critical turnover.
That he doubled down and said he would perhaps call the same play again didn't help the perception of him in the eyes of Bears fans.
Chicago's offense followed up that performance against the Commanders with a two-week stretch that saw Williams sacked a combined 15 times against the Cardinals and Patriots. Having several offensive line injuries didn't help, but the offense didn't seem to do much to help the young quarterback in terms of play-calling either.
It is all part of a pattern that saw a number of players publicly call out the coaching staff in recent weeks. Allen didn't exactly hold back in his latest comments, although now it will be up to him and others to perform better moving forward.
The veteran receiver has just 241 yards on a career-worst 9.3 yards per catch in seven games this season, while nobody on the team has more than three touchdown receptions.
Perhaps giving passing game coordinator Thomas Brown the offensive coordinator role can spark a much-needed boost. Otherwise, there will be more changes in Chicago ahead of the 2025 campaign.
